Warren, Galvao Eye 135 Tournament After Controversial Decision

Marcos Galvao (left) appeared to take rounds one and two from
Joe Warren. | Photo: Dave Mandel

Joe
Warren’s unanimous decision win over Marcos
Galvao had fans and pundits shouting “robbery” as soon as the
judges’ scorecards were read, but the
Bellator featherweight champion made no apologies for his
controversial victory on Saturday night.

“What can I say? There’s a war every time I hit that cage,” Warren
said at the
Bellator 41 post-fight press conference. “I’m a warrior. I pull
wins out, and I guarantee I’ll keep getting better.”

Warren and Galvao battled for three rounds inside the Cocopah
Resort and Casino in Yuma, Ariz., with Galvao using his black
belt-level Brazilian jiu-jitsu and diverse striking to stifle
Warren’s wrestling attack through the first two rounds. Warren’s
tenacious takedown attempts yielded results in the third, when he
managed to pin Galvao down and mash from top control. Judge Chuck
Wolf somehow saw fit to grant Warren all three rounds and a 30-27
scorecard, while judges Henry Gueary and Brooks Mason returned
slightly more understandable 29-28 verdicts in Warren’s favor.

While Warren praised Galvao for his toughness afterward, the
34-year-old Greco-Roman specialist did not go into detail on how or
if he felt that he earned the decision. Instead, the
self-proclaimed “baddest man on the planet” focused his attention
on his future, both in MMA and wrestling.

“We’re training right now for the Olympics, training for the
[Bellator Season 5 bantamweight] tournament. It’s one thing at a
time. First things first, we’re gonna defend the belt against one
of these bad-asses right here,” Warren said, motioning to
featherweight finalists Patricio
Freire and Daniel
Straus. “After I beat them, I’ll move on to the 135 tournament,
then we’ll move on to the Olympics. We’re goal orientated up
here.”

Galvao seemed similarly disinterested in focusing on his hard luck,
but offered a glimpse down a path which could lead to a future
rematch with Warren. The
Nova UniÃ£o product expressed his desire to compete for the
promotion again, something which Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn
Rebney stated was likely to happen “in short order” at either 135
or 145 pounds.

“Even though tonight didn’t end the way I wanted it to end, I’m
gonna be back in September, hopefully, in [the bantamweight]
tournament,” said Galvao. “I’m just gonna come back stronger than
ever.”